Panos Panay sees a future where AI devices reduce app use

Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior vice president of Devices, Alexa & Leo, told TechCrunch that personal computing could shift from app-centered smartphones to “ambient” devices that use sensors and AI to understand users’ needs and work in the background. Panay said this does not mean smartphones will cease to be important or that one form factor will replace the others; an intelligence layer could connect different devices.

Amazon introduced new Bee devices: a band that can also be worn as a pendant and a credit-card-sized device that attaches magnetically to a smartphone. They passively record audio to create notes, to-dos and reminders. The raw audio is processed in real time and deleted, while conversation transcripts are encrypted with keys controlled by the device, meaning no one else — including Amazon employees — can access the files unless the user shares them.